Plans for 2012

Wentwood 50 MTB Enduro
Wally Gimber Memorial E123 Road Race
Abergavenny Spring Handicap Road Race
24hrs of Exposure MTB 24hr solo
Legstretchers Memorial to Betty Pharoah 3/4 Road Race
Welsh Road Race Champs E123 Er.... Road Race
Ras De Cymru 2/3 5 Day Road Stage race
Bontrager Twentyfour12 12hr Solo Torch Bearer
Leadville Trail 100m MTB race in Colorado
Kielder 100 MTB

With a few more road and MTB races thrown in for good measure. Might throw another 12/24hr Solo in there somewhere. I have to shoehorn  an attempt at the South Downs Way Double in under 24hrs in as well.

Not much of a season hey

The Kielder 100 is sooner than I thought

Camping at Mayhem 2010

The Kielder 100 is on the 1st weekend of September. I had already entered the event almost a year in advance.  Just seen a tweet from the organiser Paul Davis of SIS Events that the event is a third full already, that the B&Bs are already fully booked and that the campsites are already taking bookings. I guess I should have seen that coming. I will be camping for sure. It's the last week of the school holidays & my kids have never been to Scotland. 
So the massive family tent I bought for times such as these will be put to good use again. 
I guess preparation such as booking things like this is as important as the training. Imagine I get through the entry lottery for the Leadville 100 entry. Then that will take some organising. That event is in Colorado.

So what's the plan for 2011

For starters I have to finish off 2010 with a good solid base of training miles in my legs. I've never raced over 6hrs before so it's important to get the miles in. Just after Christmas I have a 4hr Enduro planned. Will be good to race the end of the year with a bit of Christmas spirit. 
A trip up to Newcastleton on the Scottish border might be on the cards in January to recce the area used for my main targets of the year which are the 24hrs of Exposure and the Mondane Kielder 100. That should be a good weekends training and some cold camping. 
24hrs of Exposure, this the British 24hrs solo champs. I was told this is the best one to do as your first solo 24hr as it has a Rookie category and you get very good support. The entry fee is pretty high but you get looked after in this race rather than being left to your own devices (I hope I haven't got that bit wrong). It's a solo only race so there will  It's all the way up north on the border between England and Scotland in a place called Newcastleton. Looks a great place to spend a few days. I've no idea right now what I'm going to have to do to get myself round this course for 24hrs either mentally or physically. I should hope to have sorted that out in the next six months. 

The long climb on the final lap at Mayhem

Next on the plan is the OS Mountain Mayhem. Not sure if I should ride it solo or as part of a team. I really enjoyed it last year. I will have to make up my mind early spring as when the entry opens you have to be quick to get in this one. The course at Eastnoor Castle suits me well as it's  not very technical and I've not got the sharpest skills on the track (something I need to work on). 
The Bontrager Twentyfour12 is up next where I have already entered the 12hr event. I figured that you should keep these 24hr efforts down to just one or two a season. I'm sure it takes a lot out of you. Wiggle's Matt Page who is the current British 24hr champ says it takes a good 4-6weeks to recover from your efforts in a 24hr race. That sounds Horrific to be honest. It takes me a week to recover from a 5 day stage race on the road. 
I have a long break then from the long races until Mondane Kielder 100 which is a 100mile race that is one in one lap. It's based back up in Newcastleton up on the Scottish Boarders again. Now I know I can do this one well. I certainly will have the endurance to do this by September. You'd think so after have possibly two 24hrs and a 12hr under my belt. Hopefully I will retain some speed by racing as many shorter XC races as possible. I'm lucky I'm based in Newport, South Wales and London. Welsh Series early in the season mixed with the Gorricks and Beastway Series midweek after work on a Wednesday.
Hopefully there is no clash of dates between the Breacon Beast and the Mondane Kielder 100 or I maybe tempted to give the Manx End 2 End a crack which looks fantastic.
Sounds like a good plan at the moment. I might have to do a few road races. I still haven't won a road race and I've dropped down to a 3rd cat on the road after a big fat zero points for last season. Well it helps if you race and I only entered two races finishing neither (puncture & mechanical).
At a grand old 36 years, I'm in the Masters Category in mountain biking 30-39. I like the age group racing. I'm not sure British Cycling are keeping the age category for next season. Rumours say no. Fingers crossed it stays. For the Enduro, 12 & 24hr events its 18-39 then 40+ so it's only for the shorter XC races will it effect me. 

So I've got a Mountain Bike (What next?)

Coming down off the Gap Road
Brecon Beast 2010

Last year I decided that I would try something else. I had become a little tired of road racing and wanted something that was a bit more fun. Don't get me wrong, I love road racing but as I live between London and South Wales I was finding it a bit crap. I have the Cwmcarn Twrch Trail (I'll get back to that) right on my doorstep on the weekends and I thought I'd get myself a MTB. I really didn't intend to race just have a bit of fun. 

Before my bike had arrived I had borrowed a bike off a colleague and took it up Cwmcarn. Next thing I know I've entered the OS Mountain Mayhem 24hr race as part of a Mixed Team of 5 & had started to plan my season. So I entered a mix of XC races & Enduros.

I was into the MTB so much I only did two road races all season. I do plan to do more road races in 2011 but more for training than anything. 

I did the North East London based Beastway series which started very well for me. 1st race I was second in Masters. I was leading until I did my trademark one crash of the race. Most of the series I was in the top 4 or 5 with the odd week of Hell due to a puncture or broken ribs. Right in the middle of the Beastway series was the OS Mountain Mayhem 24hr. I raced this as part of a team. It was bloody awesome. I can't believe how much fun it was and how hard it was. I was riding for my club Norwood Paragon CC. A team of 5. 4 boys and one bloody fast Lady called Kaye. We did bloody good considering Doc broke his thumb. I had my trademark crash and Adam slept in a bit late one lap. We came 10th which wasn't bad considering. I saw the state of the solo guys and thought they looked a right mess. No way would I be stupid enough to try that.

I then did a few of the local races in Surrey which were pretty cool. 

An early round of Beastway

The high & low point of my season were the Enduros all the races i had done so far were no more than two hours long. The Low point was the 75km Big Welsh Enduro in Margam Park. I thought I was fit until I turned up to this race. Boy I had a shock. I wasn't last but not far off. If it hadn't been for some friends cheering me on I would have packed. 
The high point was the Brecon Beast which was 110km and up and over the Brecon Beacons mtns. I really enjoyed it. I was actually competitive pretty much the whole way round until I snapped a chain. When I crossed the line I was told I was 8th. confusion with the results puts me outside the top 20 but I know where I came. I suffered the whole way round but loved every minute of it. It was in the final kms of this race I pretty much decided that I was going to try a 24hr Solo. 

So there were are, I said it 24hr solo. At the London Cycle Show the XC Racer Shop announced that the entries for the 24hrs of Exposure and the Mondane Kielder 100 so I entered them both. Jump in both feet first, might as well and so it starts......


Better get training!